What is the Cause of Communication Apprehension?
Communication apprehension usually manifests in an individual from an early age. Children with a natural inclination towards shyness and quietness can go on to become communication apprehensive. Beyond this predisposed trait, there are several other contributing factors that often lead to communication apprehension. These factors are:- Low intellect or perceived low intellect
- Low self esteem
- Voluntary introversion
- Speech impediments or deficiencies
- Social alienation
- Anxiety in social situations
- Ethnic or cultural differences in local communication norms
Prevalence of Communication Apprehension
Though they may feel alone, communication apprehension is actually more common than you might think. Recent studies have shown that at least 11 percent of elementary school children suffer from a significant level of the disorder. Furthermore, it is estimated that 20 percent of children suffer enough anxiety during social situations to negatively impact daily life.How to Cure Communication Apprehension
It is generally recommended that parents and teachers try to decrease stress levels and anxiety caused by communication as quickly as possible. A helpful assistant to this cause is The Midwest Center Attacking Anxiety & Depression Program. The program can offer assistance to parents and teachers to help the child identify the stress in their lives and work out a management plan to cope with stressful situations. Otherwise, the disorder may affect the individual for a lifetime, making it much harder to break in adulthood.As the classroom is often the most stressful and social place for children, several factors have been shown to reduce communication apprehension. Some of these include:
- Taking time to allow classmates to get to know each other, particularly at the beginning of the year
- Creating a warm, welcoming classroom environment
- Promoting group projects and group discussions
- Letting shy children work with whom they feel most comfortable
- Encouraging social and oral activities as opposed to just pen and paper assignments
As you can probably guess, the more comfortable an individual becomes within a social environment, the less anxiety he or she will feel. For individuals who already suffer from a severe case of communication apprehension, stress management is often the first step to overriding anxiety so that they can interject themselves into social situations and grow more comfortable. For extremely shy children the help of a psychotherapist may be helpful. Through open discussions and supervised desensitization, these children have a strong chance of overcoming their disorder. Enrolling the child in a self-help program like the Attacking Anxiety & Depression Program can increase their chances of improvement and provide a good complement to psychotherapy.
